1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to can openers, and more particularly to can openers which are hand driven to produce a complete circular cut in the top of the can in order that the circular can top can be removed from the can for access to the goods in the interior of the can. More particularly, the can opener of the present invention is directed to one which produces the cutting action by means of a vertically driven reciprocating action concurrent with a rotating action as the tips of the cutting blades are driven about the top of the can.
2. Prior Art
Can openers are well known in the art and have taken a variety of forms.
The most common, hand-operated can opener usually includes a handle which is grasped in one hand and has a rotating cutting blade wheel which bears against the can top, which rotating blade wheel is driven by a key which is rotated by the opposite hand of the user. Sometimes the wheel skips leaving an incomplete cut, and, when the blade wheel becomes dull, the entire can opener is thrown out.
Such can openers thus have not been totally effective, and the need for improvement has long existed in this art.
In contrast to this prior art approach of driving a rotating cutting blade wheel along the periphery of the can, the present invention utilizes a hand driven, reciprocating action which vertically drives the cutting blades up and down, while the can opener is likewise rotated about a vertical axis producing a complete 360 degree cut about the periphery of the can top. Such positive drive produces a more definite and stronger cutting action than achieved in the prior art.
3. General Discussion of the Invention
The present invention achieves the desired results of an improved can cutting action by utilizing a can opener having a main, hollow shaft which includes at its top a handle which can be firmly grasped in the hand of the user for positively driving the can opener up and down along with an easy concurrent rotating action of the handle about a vertical axis. At the lower end of the can opener there is included a series of radially extending arms which include at their distal ends downwardly directed cutting blades which cut the can top as the can opener is driven up and down and rotated.
Holding or engaging hooks are preferably located at the far ends of the cutting blades which are in the form of preferably inverted "U" shapes, which hook over the upper lip of the can and thereby exactly position the cutting blades as they are moved about the top of the can to produce the complete 360 degrees of circular cut. Additionally, there is preferably included at the lower end of the can opener a supplemental, can top holding shaft which includes a magnet at its bottom for magnetically holding the can top during the cutting operation. The supplemental shaft telescopically fits in to the central, hollow interior of the main shaft and is spring-biased.
The cutting blades are preferably telescopically positioned within the radial arms to allow for variation of the effective cutting diameter of the can opener by substituting different sized sets of blades for different sized cans. Alternatively, the depth of the telescoping fit between the cutting blades and the arms could be varied by inserting more or less of the shanks of the cutting blades into the interior of the radial arms to vary the effective diameter of cut.
Thus, it is a basic object of the present invention to provide a hand-manipulated, positively driven can opener which is highly effective in its cut and can be readily and easily adaptable to varying sizes of cans and which allows easy replacement of dullen blades while allowing the continued use of the main structure of the can opener.